SUDDHANANDA FOUNDATION FORSELF KNOWLEDGE

The Suddhananda Foundation for Self-Knowledge is situated in Southern
India about 20 km from Chennai (previously known as Madras) on a tranquil
seaside location. Swami Suddhananda, a student of Swami Chinmayananda and
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi, heads this learning centre. He has been
teaching, conducting workshops on and giving lectures on Self-Knowledge
all over the world for the last 25 years.

As a person who has achieved 'mastery over the mind' through the discovery of the ultimate happiness
and inner peace, he is eager that everyone share this vision. To this end,
he kindles interest in the student to go beyond the mind to the very
source of happiness.

The present educational system focuses on developing skills - physical
and intellectual - and teaches one "how to make a living". It does not
train people to face the emotional challenges of life. Caught in the
whirlpool of day-to-day existence, people realise they have not learnt
"how to live". The Foundation for Self-Knowledge fills this void created
by the educational system and helps students discover the true purpose of
life.

As indicated earlier, Swamiji conducts lecture sessions, weekend
camps and short residential courses in India and overseas (Singapore, Hong
Kong, Australia, New Zealand, U.K., U.S.A., West Indies, the Philippines
and other places). He also offers long residential courses at Chennai for
those who want to teach Self-Knowledge as their chosen profession.
Whatever your degree of interest in the pursuit of the ultimate happiness,
this is where you come for answers.

MESSAGE FROM SWAMIJI

The idea of Self-Knowledge is to introduce one to one’s own self which is
Truth, Happiness and Immortality. ‘Who we are’ is always the same whereas
‘what we have’ varies. (In fact, it should vary for effective functioning
in life). All of us, when asked to introduce ourselves never speak of
ourselves as we are, but only recite our roles or the names of things that
we have.

We ‘have’ a name. We ‘have’ a degree. We ‘have’ a faith. But we shall say,
"I ‘am’ Ram, Rahim or David"; "I ‘am’ a PhD"; "I ‘am’ a Hindu, Muslim or
Christian." We don’t describe ourselves accurately since we don’t know the
Truth that is ourselves. We don’t lie either, but our version of ourselves
is incomplete.

Each individual must know himself not only to accept himself as he ‘is’
and all that he ‘has’, but also to effortlessly accept others first for
who they are and thereafter for what they have.